of new seedlings each year to secure, at most, one or two that can eventually prove 
themselves even slightly better than the average already in commerce — no financial 
returns from these few can repay the actual expense of the hybridizers efforts and labor 
on the thousands, that of necessity, he has grown, harvested, grown again and then 
discarded. Only the thrill of creation and the satisfaction of seeing some seedling of his 
own development growing and giving pleasure in thousands of gardens, balances the 
labor, time, effort and money he has spent. 
Certainly we are happier to see the originator receive a substantial financial profit 
from his successful seedling, and the more he obtains, the greater our satisfaction. We 
do not believe that high introductory prices are the most apt to bring him the maximum 
of financial returns. The prosperity of America has been built on mass production — 
bringing low cost — and consequently mass purchases. In gladiolus the formula is the 
same. Given an absolutely equal quality, the firm that can market 50 bulbs at $10.00 
could as easily market 125 at $5.00 and even more easily market 2000 at $1.00, and 
this lowest price brings in just double the amount of dollars, with a growing cost of less 
than $50.00 for producing the extra bulbs. 
If the glad is good, and we mean GOOD, a distribution of 2000 in the first year 
will show it to so many more people, who will buy it when the price gets down into 
their budget limit of 50c or 25c, that succeeding annual sales will climb while the price 
is still above the basic low price of 6 for 50c, thus bringing the originator or owner of 
the stock more dollars. 
Then if it should prove on country-wide tests, just a mediocre glad instead of the 
“super” that it seemed at first growing —in any case it would never have achieved 
national demand — but the dollar investor could eat a heartier breakfast than if he had 
gambled a $5 or $10 bill, and everyone would feel better about it. 
As a recognized source of supply for the newer gladiolus we must of necessity 
obtain and list the most outstanding of the newcomers, no matter how much we 
disapprove of the price schedules. The grower with an outlet for his increase, regardless 
of what he must pay for a starting stock — providing the variety becomes popular — can 
profit in its growing over a period of years. As an exampe Patrician, which we purchased 
four years ago at $25.00 per bulb, is such a fast propagator and such a splendid variety 
that even though we can offer it this season at only $2.00, it has proven one of our 
soundest bulb investments. However, if we were amateur glad hobbiests with no room 
time or desire to keep more than a few bulbs of a variety for our own pleasure, we 
wouldn't feel too good to have the value drop that fast. 
This theory of low introductory pricing is in our considered opinion a sound policy. 
Even though we seem, of the catalog profession, almost alone in our belief, Gladland 
Acres will continue to offer our exclusive introductions at a nominal price level the first 
year of introduction. Gladland Acres introductions will be tested varieties — that we 
ourselves feel are the equal of any regardless of price. This year, for 1950, the variety 
we introduce is Harold Higgins’ Pharoah, a gladiolus that has won more seedling awards 
in competition and has received more pre-introduction favorable publicity, than any 
gladiolus that will be released this year from any source. Many hundreds of Gladland 
customers will take advantage of our low first year pricing of Pharoah to grow it 
themselves next summer. We hope that you will be one of them. 
OREGON GROWN BULBS 
As amateurs we have grown gladiolus in Oklahoma and in Kansas, and have 
watched them growing in all of the states of the middle-west and in many of the western 
states. It was our experience there, that OREGON GROWN bulbs produced for us the 
finest flower spikes. Hence it was natural that when we decided we would like to grow 
glad bulbs commercially; to make a business of what had been our favorite garden 
avocation; that we came to Oregon to grow them. 
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